Abstract
BackgroundFew serological tests are available for detecting antibodies against Mycoplasma capricolum subsp. capripneumoniae, the causal agent of contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (CCPP). The complement fixation test, the test prescribed for international trade purposes, uses a crude antigen that cross-reacts with all the other mycoplasma species of the “mycoides cluster” frequently infecting goat herds. The lack of a more specific test has been a real obstacle to the evaluation of the prevalence and economic impact of CCPP worldwide. A new competitive ELISA kit for CCPP, based on a previous blocking ELISA, was formatted at CIRAD and used to evaluate the prevalence of CCPP in some regions of Kenya, Ethiopia, Mauritius, Tajikistan and Pakistan in an international collaborative study.ResultsThe strict specificity of the test was confirmed in CCPP-free goat herds exposed to other mycoplasma species of the “mycoides cluster”. Prevalence studies were performed across the enzootic range of the disease in Africa and Asia. Seroprevalence was estimated at 14.6% in the Afar region of Ethiopia, whereas all the herds presented for CCPP vaccination in Kenya tested positive (individual seroprevalence varied from 6 to 90% within each herd). In Mauritius, where CCPP emerged in 2009, nine of 62 herds tested positive. In Central Asia, where the disease was confirmed only recently, no positive animals were detected in the Wakhan District of Afghanistan or across the border in neighboring areas of Tajikistan, whereas seroprevalence varied between 2.7% and 44.2% in the other districts investigated and in northern Pakistan. The test was also used to monitor seroconversion in vaccinated animals.ConclusionsThis newly formatted CCPP cELISA kit has retained the high specificity of the original kit. It can therefore be used to evaluate the prevalence of CCPP in countries or regions without vaccination programs. It could also be used to monitor the efficacy of vaccination campaigns as high-quality vaccines induce high rates of seroconversion.
Highlights
Few serological tests are available for detecting antibodies against Mycoplasma capricolum subsp. capripneumoniae, the causal agent of contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (CCPP)
Autopsies are rarely performed on goats dying from the disease and, when samples are sent to the laboratory for isolation of the causal agent, other mycoplasmas, such as M. mycoides subsp. capri (Mmc), M. capricolum subsp. capricolum (Mcc) and M. ovipneumoniae, are often isolated
Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. capri (Mmc) was the most frequently isolated mycoplasma species, whereas Mycoplasma capricolum subsp. capricolum (Mcc) was detected only once
Summary
Few serological tests are available for detecting antibodies against Mycoplasma capricolum subsp. capripneumoniae, the causal agent of contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (CCPP). Capripneumoniae, the causal agent of contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (CCPP). The causal agent of CCPP was first isolated in 1976 [2], but it was not given its species name until 1993: M. capricolum subsp. Autopsies are rarely performed on goats dying from the disease and, when samples are sent to the laboratory for isolation of the causal agent, other mycoplasmas, such as M. mycoides subsp. It was thought that the use of PCR for the molecular detection of Mccp would greatly facilitate the diagnosis of CCPP and provide more accurate information about the prevalence of the disease
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